Minister Responds to Alleged Sources of Data Leak

Following the launch of a new online service that allows users to identify potential sources of personal data leaks, many Kazakhstanis began sharing their results online. Among the frequently cited sources were major Russian companies like Yandex and Sportmaster, Orda.kz reports.

Digital Development Minister Zhaslan Madiyev addressed the issue, noting that these companies are officially registered in Kazakhstan and operate under domestic law.

The companies you are talking about are registered, first of all, in Kazakhstan. The same Yandex.Food — they have a Kazakhstani representative office, a large office, a significant number of employees. This, one can say, is already a Kazakhstani business. And in general, Yandex is represented in our region precisely through the Kazakhstani office, which we are certainly proud of,
 Madiyev stated during a session in the Majilis.

He emphasized that the country of origin does not exempt companies from Kazakhstan’s laws on data protection.

These are investments, jobs. The company is a major employer. In terms of data protection, they are subject to the same laws as everyone else. There are no exceptions for them,
he added.

Madiyev also said the government is tightening oversight of large data operators, specifically those managing personal information of more than one million individuals.

One of the key changes includes mandatory cyber insurance.

Large holders of personal data are subject to stricter regulation. For example, we are now introducing mandatory cyber insurance for those operators who process data of more than one million citizens. These are additional requirements,
 the Minister noted.

He added that security standards for medical systems will also be raised. These systems will be classified as critical infrastructure, requiring stronger protection and biometric authentication to access data.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov